Kukla's Korner Hockey

Barry Melrose is gone. Was he ever here? We’re still not sure about the new owners. But Lightning players, even if they haven’t turned it into wins, can feel a change. The circus has left down.

“It’s feels gone,” Lightning winger Mark Recchi said.

“The dust has started to settle,” Marty St. Louis said.

They feel they’re moving in one direction, just like Rick Tocchet once did as he charged the net or threw his fists.

“He’s a straight-up guy, the same guy he was on the ice,” said Recchi, who was once traded for Tocchet and later played with him. “He helped stabilize things. We’re well prepared. We know where we stand. There’s no gray area.”